August 15 is the last day Indians will be able to submit their views on
the net neutrality debate that has been raging for months now. The
online community has been very vocal on their insistance of net
neutrality and a many people had petitioned against Zero Rating services
that many mobile carriers had planned. However, the fight isn’t over
yet as the government has requested people to come forth and discuss the
issue by leaving a comment at mygov.in.
Without net neutrality, ISPs will be able to give preferential treatment
to select websites while discriminating against other websites, which
is against the whole concept of a free and open internet.The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) released its own views on net neutrality, however, the government was still undecided on the contentious issue. However, a discussion on the upcoming policy is now live on mygov.in, and people are free to register on the website and participate in the debate by leaving behind a simple comment.
Confused by what the net neutrality debate is all about? Then you must read the followings:
What is net neutrality?
If net neutrality was to be defined in a single line it would go like this:
“The premise of net neutrality is that all data on the Internet should be
treated equally.”
Expanding on the above, a more comprehensive definition would be:
“Net neutrality means that Internet service providers (think companies like
Airtel, Reliance etc. who are responsible for your broadband and mobile
Internet connections) shouldn’t be allowed to give preferential treatment to
select websites, online services or apps. These ISPs should also not be allowed
to discriminate against any websites, online services or apps.”
Let’s now break up the above
definition for the sake of clarification:
Preferential treatment: This means that ISPs can’t ask some websites,
online services or apps to pay extra in order to make it easier for consumers
to access them. For instance, Airtel shouldn’t be allowed to take money from
Flipkart and then let Airtel broadband and mobile Internet customers load the
Flipkart website faster, or scrap all data charges when the Flipkart app is
being used.
Discrimination: Conversely, an ISP shouldn’t be allowed to penalize
websites, online services or apps because they haven’t paid extra charges.
Continuing the same example from above, Airtel shouldn’t be allowed to put
competing e-commerce websites like Snapdeal or Amazon at a disadvantage by
giving Flipkart a boost just because Flipkart paid up. Also, while currently
this discrimination may only come to life in the form of advantages given to
companies that pay the ISP, it’s not very difficult to imagine a time when
certain websites and apps are made unusable or entirely blocked on certain
networks just because they didn’t pay up.
Why should I care/know about net neutrality?
If you use the Internet in any shape
or form today, net neutrality affects you directly. If the Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI) takes the side of telcos and ISPs in this matter then
you will see a considerable change in the way you visit websites or use apps.
One of the darkest possible future scenarios in this timeline would be to have
the Internet divided up into slices of websites and services, similar to how
your DTH provider offers channels. According to this timeline, you would have
to pay extra on top of your recurring Internet plan to access certain websites
or services.
On the other hand, if we are to take
an optimistic (albeit unrealistic) view of the intents of the ISPs and telcos,
then in a country without net neutrality we could see the most common and
popular apps being completely free to use with respect to data charges and the
overall cost of data use falling because ISPs no longer have to only rely on
the end user for revenue. As I said, it sounds unrealistic.
Nevertheless, wherever you stand on
the debate, it’s clear that net neutrality does directly affect you and as a
result, you should know and care about it.
Even though everybody supports net neutrality, is there a contrarian viewpoint?
As it always happens in a debate,
net neutrality is being both derided and defended by different parties. And
even though it may appear like net neutrality has received universal support,
it is important to understand the other side of the debate as well.
But first, let’s take a quick look
at why net neutrality is being defended:
1. Without net neutrality, it would
be very easy for ISPs to mould the browsing habits of its users with the help
of pricing slabs, different speeds for different sites and other methods. So,
if Airtel wanted its users to visit Flipkart, it would make it exceedingly easy
and advantageous to do so and put competing sites on the back foot which would
clearly be an anti-competition move.
2. Net neutrality also ensures that
small, new companies can compete against established big names on the Internet
fairly. If net neutrality did not exist then big companies would shackle their
competition with the implicit ability to be able pay more to the ISPs to ensure
better service, something that most start-ups wouldn’t be able to do.
3. Now, this scenario may lie at the
furthest end of the slippery slope, but here it is: since the absence of net
neutrality could mean that an ISP will get money from companies, that relationship
may be enough to compel the ISP to mute online criticism against one of its
paying partners.
4. Another scenario that exists
without net neutrality is that the Internet becomes a stratified mess and
you’ll be forced to choose packages of websites and services like you do with
your DTH subscription. If you want unrestricted access to the Internet, the
ISPs could force you to pay through the nose.
What is net neutrality?
What is net neutrality?
Confused
by what the net neutrality debate is all about? Then, this story is for
you. - See more at:
http://www.digit.in/internet/so-whats-the-deal-with-net-neutrality-25745.html#sthash.Q4OVg4qi.dpuf
Confused
by what the net neutrality debate is all about? Then, this story is for
you. - See more at:
http://www.digit.in/internet/so-whats-the-deal-with-net-neutrality-25745.html#sthash.Q4OVg4qi.dpufConfused
Confused
by what the net neutrality debate is all about? Then, this story is for
you. - See more at:
http://www.digit.in/internet/so-whats-the-deal-with-net-neutrality-25745.html#sthash.Q4OVg4qi.dpuf
Confused
by what the net neutrality debate is all about? Then, this story is for
you. - See more at:
http://www.digit.in/internet/so-whats-the-deal-with-net-neutrality-25745.html#sthash.Q4OVg4qi.dpuf
5. The anti-net neutrality arguments
become even more vociferous when it comes to VoIP and messaging apps like
WhatsApp and Viber. Since these services directly affect the telcos’
bottomline, there is the significant possibility that the companies behind
these apps will have to register for licenses in order to conduct operations in
India. This means that unless the companies behind messaging and VoIP apps
decide to pay the government for licenses, you won’t be able to use them.
These are only a few of the many
arguments that net neutrality proponents put forward in defence of keeping the
Internet neutral. However, when we get to the debate against net neutrality,
the focus of the arguments is markedly different. While the pro net neutrality
talking points almost always have the consumer as their focal point, the other
side of the debate seems to be focused on the telecom operators and how a ‘neutral’
Internet ensures financial doom. In fact, TRAI recently published a
consultation paper that almost exclusively focuses on how many VoIP services,
apps and websites are taking undue advantage of the infrastructure set up by
telcos who spent bucketloads of money setting it all up. It’s a long paper but
even if you just skim through it, this theme jumps out at you.
 |
A graph from the TRAI policy paper
that shows drop in SMS use
|
The fact is that in order to support
dismantling net neutrality, you have to believe in the telcos’ claim that
without earning revenue from VoIP services and websites like YouTube, they will
be forced to either pass on huge costs to the consumer or to accept massive
losses.
 |
A graph from the TRAI policy paper
showing dropping growth of voice calls over mobile & increasing growth of
VoIP.
|
Apart from the arguments that are in
line with the above, let’s take a look at some of the other talking points put
forward against net neutrality:
1. ISPs argue that they can increase
the overall efficiency of their networks if they’re allowed to ‘actively’
manage them. This means that ISPs can decide how to shape Internet traffic so
that heavy Internet users don’t affect the experience of light users. ISPs also
claim that this will allow them to give preference to certain types of online
services that are necessary and should be prioritized, such as communication
channels used by hospitals or emergency response services during a disaster.
2. ISPs also argue that adopting a
blanket net neutrality policy will give rise to security risks and increase
piracy and cyber crime. ISPs claim that the only way they can help the
government to police the Internet better is if they can manage it.
3. One of the more ideological
arguments against net neutrality is that it will give too much power to the
government organisation that will be responsible for enforcing net neutrality.
Some net neutrality detractors have argued that it’s better for user privacy
and competition if the ISPs themselves manage the Internet rather than letting
a governmental body have control.
It may be simplistic to say so but
it does appear that the anti-net neutrality stance basically boils down to one
point: You should implicitly trust the ISPs because they will always have
your best interests at heart. Now, whether you agree with that statement
should tell you where you stand on the net neutrality debate.
Isn’t net neutrality an American
problem? Why should it matter here in India?
It’s true
that net neutrality first blinked on our collective radars when it sparked a
debate in the US, but now the debate has reached our shores in a big way. With
the recent revelation about Airtel Zero, and how it would make certain websites
freely accessible, the debate has become even more important. Indian Internet
policy is still young and malleable and this is a very important time to help
shape it so that it continues to open and democratic. The net neutrality debate
is integral to the policy framework that will govern the Internet in India and
it’s very important that we help it manifest in a form that’s fair to everyone
currently on the Internet and those aspiring to be so.
source:digit
Confused
by what the net neutrality debate is all about? Then, this story is for
you. - See more at:
http://www.digit.in/internet/so-whats-the-deal-with-net-neutrality-25745.html#sthash.Q4OVg4qi.dpuf
